Hamilton was born in London (24 February 1922 – 13 September 2011), and attended the Slade School of Art from 1948-51. In 1952 he co-founded the Independent Group, a subsidiary of the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London, with fellow artist Eduardo Paolozzi. Hamilton has received numerous awards including The Slade Etching and Engraving Prize, 1951, The World Print Council Award, 1983, and the Praemium Imperiale in 2008. Retrospective exhibitions of Hamilton's work have among other places been held at the Hanover Gallery, 1964, and the Tate Gallery, 1970 and 1992. He taught at the London Central School of Arts and Crafts and the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, and was Britain's representative at the 1993 Venice Biennale. Hamilton lived and worked in Northend, UK.